Europe

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s push for fighter jets to help beat back Russia’s invasion force risks straining the unity of Ukraine’s Western allies, amid fears that the move could escalate the nearly year-long conflict and draw them deeper into the war.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was due in Paris Tuesday where discussions about the possible delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine was expected to be on the agenda.

GENEVA, Jan 30 (APP): Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar on Monday said that with the country’s human rights progress on an upward trajectory, Pakistan will continue to be a leading voice of the vulnerable and the oppressed.

“From drafting the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Convention on Racial Discrimination to establishing the Human Rights Council, Pakistan has remained and will continue to be a leading voice of the vulnerable and the oppressed,” she stated here at the 4th Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Pakistan.

MOSCOW, Jan 30 (APP): Pakistan and the Russian Federation on Monday agreed to pursue initiatives to deepen bilateral cooperation in various realms including education, economy, energy and connectivity.

This was agreed by the two sides as Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held constructive talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad, regional issues including the situation in Afghanistan and cooperation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) were also discussed.

BELGRADE, January 30. /TASS/: The international community has annexed the international Serbian region of Kosovo and Metohija, President of Croatia Zoran Milanovic told reporters Monday.

"We have annexed Kosovo - we and the international community. It was taken from Serbia. Who did it, if not us - we did recognize Kosovo, after all? […] I’m not questioning Kosovo itself, but the entire concept," Milanovic said, noting that the gist of the issue does not change, regardless of whether it is called "annexation or expropriation."

MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/: The United States has transferred military biological equipment from Ukraine to chemical and pharmacological sites in Poland and the Baltic States, Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force Igor Kirillov said on Monday.

"As part of activities to wind down military biological operations in Ukraine, the United States are proactively engaging the material base of chemical and pharmacological plants of Poland and the Baltic States; furthermore, equipment from the Ukrainian territory was delivered there," the official said.

BELGRADE, January 30. /TASS/: Serbia is not joining NATO due to logical and well-known reasons, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday at a joint news conference with Czech President Milos Zeman.

BUDAPEST, January 30. /TASS/: Hungary and Austria will not send weapons to Ukraine and would like to prevent the escalation of the ongoing conflict, Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky said after the talks with his Austrian counterpart Klaudia Tanner in Budapest Monday.

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Unilever on Monday appointed Hein Schumacher to replace Alan Jope as chief executive from July in a move that was welcomed by investors including board member and activist shareholder Nelson Peltz.

Schumacher, 51, rejoined Unilever in October last year as non-executive director and is currently the chief of Dutch dairy business FrieslandCampina.

He worked at Unilever more than 20 years ago before working for retailer Royal Ahold NV and packaged food maker H.J. Heinz in the United States, Europe and Asia.

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Russia told the United States on Monday that the last remaining pillar of bilateral nuclear arms control could expire in 2026 without a replacement due to what it said were U.S. efforts to inflict "strategic defeat" on Moscow in Ukraine.

Both Russia and the United States still have vast arsenals of nuclear weapons which are currently partially limited by the 2011 New START Treaty, which in 2021 was extended until 2026.

Jan 30 (Reuters) - A Russian company said it will offer five million roubles ($72,000) in cash to the first soldiers who destroy or capture western-made tanks in Ukraine, after the Kremlin vowed Russian forces would wipe out any Western tanks shipped to Ukraine.

The United States, Germany and several other European countries are lining up to send Kyiv dozens of advanced combat tanks over the next few months to help boost Ukraine's military capacity as the war approaches the 12-month mark.